Coca Cola Cake
Our Coca Cola cake is rich, chocolatey, and topped with a warm fudge-like icing. It’s a Southern dessert that’s great for potlucks, birthdays, or Sunday dinner.
You might also love my cherry cola dump cake and Mississippi Mud Cake.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Why You’ll Love It
My Coca Cola cake is pure Southern comfort. It’s soft, moist, and loaded with plenty of chocolate flavor.
The warm fudge icing soaks into the top and gives every bite a gooey, melt-in-your-mouth texture. If you’ve ever had the famous Cracker Barrel Coca Cola cake, this homemade version gives you that same nostalgic flavor right from your own kitchen.
It’s a simple recipe with everyday ingredients but always tastes amazing. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate dessert.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
For the Cake:
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour for a soft, tender crumb.
- Sugar: use granulated for sweetness and structure.
- Salt: just a pinch to balance flavors.
- Eggs: for structure.
- Buttermilk: adds fat and moisture and activates the baking soda.
- Vanilla extract: adds flavor.
- Coca Cola: the star ingredient that makes this cake unique and adds liquid, sweetness, and moisture.
- Butter: unsalted; adds moisture, fat, and flavor.
- Oil: canola or vegetable oil for extra moisture.
- Cocoa powder: unsweetened; gives the cake its chocolate flavor.
- Baking soda: helps the cake rise.
For the icing:
- Powdered sugar: for sweetness and a smooth texture.
- Butter: unsalted, melted into the icing base.
- Coca Cola: keeps the flavor theme going.
- Cocoa powder: for chocolate flavor.
How to Make Coca Cola Cake
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and greasing a 9×13-inch cake pan.
Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large heat-safe bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, and vanilla.
In a saucepan, heat the Coca Cola, butter, oil, and cocoa until it just starts to boil. Pour this hot mixture over the flour mixture.
Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until smooth. Pour the batter into your pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
While the cake is still hot, make the icing. Heat the butter, Coca Cola, and cocoa powder in a saucepan until the butter melts.
Remove from heat, whisk in the powdered sugar, then pour the icing over the warm cake. Spread it evenly, slice, and serve.
Quick Tip
Use real Coca Cola, not diet or zero sugar, for the best flavor.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover Coca Cola cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days and let it come to room temperature before serving.
You can also freeze slices for up to 2 months. Wrap well in plastic wrap and foil before freezing.
More Cake Recipes
Like This Recipe?
We’d love it if you would leave a 5 Star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Coca Cola
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup canola oil, or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the Icing:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup Coca Cola
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9×13-inch cake pan. Set aside.
- In a large, heat-safe mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour2 cups granulated sugar½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, and vanilla until well combined.2 large eggs½ cup buttermilk1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Place the cola, butter, oil, and cocoa powder in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil.1 cup Coca Cola½ cup unsalted butter½ cup canola oil⅓ cup cocoa powder
- Pour the cola mixture over into the flour mixture, and use a hand mixer to beat the ingredients until combined. Usually about 1 minute.
- Add the buttermilk/egg mixture and baking soda and continue mixing just until combined.1 teaspoon baking soda
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before icing. It needs to be very warm to help the icing spread.
To Make the Icing:
- In a large saucepan, whisk together the butter, cola, and cocoa powder until the butter melts.½ cup unsalted butter⅓ cup Coca Cola3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Remove from heat, and whisk in the powdered sugar. Pour the icing over the hot cake and spread into an even layer. Slice and enjoy!16 ounces powdered sugar
Would you like to save this recipe?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Suggested Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Meet Kimberly
Hi, I’m Kimberly Vargo! Comfort food is at the heart of everything I make like easy dinners and sides to desserts, cocktails, and condiments. A lot of my inspiration comes from old family recipes, personal favorites, and vintage cookbooks.
This recipe was amazing because it’s a denser cake 🎂 which I love and yes you can slightly taste the coca cola yummy!
Thank you for commenting and rating the recipe. We appreciate it Cookie! Have a lovely day 🙂
Can it just say 4 cups of powdered sugar instead of 16 oz?? Everything else is in cups.
Hi Maralee! I used a box of powdered sugar which is 16-ounces by weight according to the box and my kitchen scale. Using cups is by volume which is not always an exact conversion even in this instance. A 16-ounce (1-pound) bag/box of powdered sugar is about 3 ½ to 4 ½ cups, depending on how it’s measured:
Sifted powdered sugar → About 4 ½ cups
Unsifted powdered sugar → About 3 ½ to 4 cups
I’m working through all of our recipes to show to metric and imperial measurements. It just takes time. Feel free to use 4 cups of powdered sugar if that’s what you prefer. Hope that helps. Have a great day! 😊
I am making this for my granddaughter’s birthday today. I just had to tell you I LOVE the way you created your recipe. Listing the required ingredients below each step of the recipe is brilliant! Thank you so much!
Thank you for the compliments and the feedback Lynn! We appreciate it. Have a lovely day 🙂
I agree 100%!! wish every recipe did this! 😀 Mine is baking as I type 😉
could I use coke zero?
Good Morning Rara,
Sure, go for it. We’ve never tried it, but that doesn’t mean it might not work. Kim and I would love to know how it turns out.